Preliminary Findings on the Effects of Occupational Exposure to Mercury Vapor Below Safety Levels on Visual and Neuropsychological Functions

Author(s)

Salgueiro Barboni, Mirella Telles ^[1] ; Feitosa-Santana, Claudia ^{[1, 2, 3, 4]} ; Zachi, Elaine Cristina ^[1] ; Lago, Marcos ^[1] ; Antunes Teixeira, Rosani Aparecida ^[1] ; Taub, Anita ^[5] ; da Costa, Marcelo Fernandes ^[1] ; de Lima Silveira, Luiz Carlos ^[6] ; Ventura, Dora Fix ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Expt Psychol, Inst Psychol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Chicago, Dept Psychol, Chicago, IL 60637 - USA

^[3] Univ Chicago, Inst Mind & Biol, Chicago, IL 60637 - USA

^[4] Univ Chicago, Visual Sci Labs, Chicago, IL 60637 - USA

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Psychiat, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Fed Univ Para, Inst Biol Sci, BR-66059 Belem, Para - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE; v. 51, n. 12, p. 1403-1412, DEC 2009.
• Web of Science Citations: 16

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether there are visual and neurophysical decrements in workers with low exposure to Hg vapor. Methods: Visual fields, contrast sensitivity, color vision, and neuropsychological functions were measured in 10 workers (32.5 +/- 8.5 years) chronically exposed to Hg vapor (4.3 +/- 2.8 years; urinary Hg concentration 22.3 +/- 9.3 mu g/g creatinine). Results: For the worst eyes, we found altered visual field thresholds, lower contrast sensitivity, and color discrimination compared with controls (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between Hg-exposed subjects and controls on. neuropsychological tests. Nevertheless, duration of exposure was statistically correlated to verbal memory and depression scores. Conclusions: Chronic exposure to Hg vapor at currently accepted safety levels was found to be associated with visual losses but not with neuropsychological dysfunctions in the sample of workers studied. (J Occup Environ Med. 2009,51:1403-1412) (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 02/12733-8 - Sensory losses caused by mercury intoxication: psychophysical and neurophysiological studies in patients and in animal models
• Grantee: Dora Selma Fix Ventura
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants